Asian steak salad, salmon and potato salad, the ultimate Caesar salad, butternut and beetroot and more...
With summer in full swing, I crave lush salads, but they have to be hit the spot and fill my belly.
We have the most beautiful ingredients and produce available to us.
I can’t resist a ripe, blushing tomato, creamy avocado and sweet juicy mangoes, melon and pineapple.
Add meat to your salad
I adore adding meat to salads (this is an absolute must for the husband too).
Crispy bacon, char-grilled chicken, Parma ham, seared tuna, left-over roasted meat or vegetables, smoked salmon, grilled prawns and juicy, rare slices of steak.
Ooh, and let’s not forget the myriad of cheeses one can add. Gooey brie, melt-in-your-mouth Danish feta or goats cheese, creamy blue cheese. Sigh… I can go on and on.
How do I make my salad belly-filling?
There are endless ways to transform a salad into something gorgeously delicious and belly filling:
- Play around with low GI grains like quinoa, barley, couscous and brown rice.
- Add seasonal fruit (pomegranate, pineapple, granny smith apple, peaches).
- Grill or roast your veggies to bring out their flavour.
- Experiment and make your own unique salad dressings.
- Salad doesn’t have to be cold, try a “warm” salad.
- Make your own bacon crumble – just grill until crispy and pop in a food processor or finely chop. Bacon makes everything taste better?.
- Add mixed seeds and nuts.
- Incorporate legumes into your salads (lentils, cannellini beans, butterbeans etc). They're a great source of protein and are low GI.
- Make use of fresh herbs – they make all the difference.
- Roll your salad in a wrap.
Are you feeling the salad love?
7 Inspired belly filling salads
1. Grilled peach and Parma ham salad – with rocket, parmesan, pomegranate and pumpkin seeds.
2. Warm salad of hot smoked salmon, asparagus and new potatoes – This is just too luscious and oh so comforting..
3. Prawn, papaya and avo salad - with a homemade red pepper mayo – replace papaya with mango if you like, delish!
4. Roasted butternut, beetroot and avo salad - with sweet roasted garlic dressing – YUM!
5. Asian steak salad – rare slices of steak with greens and a punchy dressing.
6. Chicken quinoa salad - with yoghurt dressing. Fresh, delicious, uber healthy.
7. Ultimate Caesar salad – a Caesar salad “on steroids”.
Follow Carey on Twitter - @bitsofcarey and she is a contributor to Crush Magazine Online.
- Carey Boucher-Erasmus
